How did Catholic imagery appear in Charles Baudelaire’s poetry?

In the poetry of Charles Baudelaire, Catholic imagery and doctrine served as the foundational language of his era and social class, which he utilized to articulate his complex views on humanity, morality, and the corruption of the material world.1

From the mid-1850s, Baudelaire identified as a Roman Catholic, yet his work reflects a deeply conflicted relationship with the faith. His poetry is marked by an obsession with original sin and the presence of the Devil, but this preoccupation remained detached from any belief in divine forgiveness or love. Consequently, his Christology is often described as impoverished or virtually nonexistent.2

Scholars debate whether these Catholic elements should be interpreted literally or as a chosen discourse through which Baudelaire grappled with the realities of modern life. Ultimately, his use of such imagery underscores his poetic struggle to find meaning in a world he perceived as irredeemably corrupt, often framing the artist as a martyr or prophet attempting to communicate the truth about the human condition to a hypocritical society.13